Bad road a pain for families

The quality of Satapuala’s access road is a major issue which discourages public transport and affects people’s safety.

So says resident, Paulo Fale.

The 47-year-old was waiting for his granddaughter outside the gates of Satapuala Primary School when the Village Voice spotted him.

“Our house is all the way in the woods; we don’t own a vehicle so we always walk here to catch the bus,” Paulo said.

“There a few families who have just settled in the area where we are staying and we all agree this is the only problem.

“We take the bus when we want to go to Apia but with this route leading to our homes, the bus stops here way before it reaches any of our houses.

“Despite the fact that I don’t mind walking, the truth still stands that most people need tranportation in this kind of situation or with this long distance road.

“Not only that but the safety of the people especially our children.

“I mean as much as I enjoy my exercise walks, I still care about the safety of everyone especially the children.

“I have children of my own that walk through this road and I’m always worried because they are just children and anything can happen.

“We don’t need to worry about us old people but the kids, because they are always waking up early to go to school so who knows what the day holds?

“I have my granddaughter and one of us always has to bring her to school and then pick her up again later because it’s all forest and woods before you reach any homes and homes here are not even close to each other.

“I think that’s why I’m speaking and asking for better roads because we need access to transportation; we need the bus to drop off everyone to their homes instead of turning back.

“If the roads are getting fixed up, if they do get better, then there’s a possibility that buses will willing come here to offer their transportation services for our people.”